This invention relates to television and more particularly to a remote control circuit for controlling the audio and video outputs of a television set by editing out unwanted portions of a broadcast.
Persons who spend a lot of time watching and listening to television are often bothered by portions of the audio and video being received. This is particularly aggravating when the same unwanted portions of the television audio and video are repeatedly presented over extended periods of time.
It is thus seen that it is highly desirable for a watcher of television to be able to eliminate the boring sound portions of such television programs by substituting therefor the audio of an alternate sound system such as a radio, phonograph or a tape player, and by simultaneously dimming the video picture.
In accordance with the present invention, while watching television, when television signals are broadcast which a person does not want to observe or hear on his television set, he employs a remote control circuit to simultaneously switch off the television audio sound, switch the brightness control circuit for the picture tube to dim the picture such that it is barely visually discernible, switch the power to an alternate sound source, and switch the audio output of the alternate sound source to the television loudspeaker in place of the audio output of the television set. Then, when the television watcher notices by observing the dimmed picture tube that the unwanted portion is over and the desired program is to resume, he employs the remote control circuit to simultaneously switch off the power to the alternate sound system, switch the audio output of the television set back to its loudspeaker, and switch the brightness control circuit on the picture tube so that the picture is returned to its normal viewing level.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a remote control circuit for editing out unwanted portions of a television program and substituting therefor the audio of an alternate sound system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a switching circuit responsive to a first depressing of a button on a remote control device for substituting the audio of an alternate sound system for the audio of the television set and dimming the picture on the picture tube thereof; and responsive to a second depressing of the button on the remote control device for returning the audio of the television set back to its desired program and brightening the picture tube back to its normal level for viewing.
Additional features and objects of the invention will be presented in connection with the ensuing detailed description of the drawings.